TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 375 American products, Mr. Lorenz was granted the first and only medal that had ever been awarded an American perfumer by a foreign government. Eleven years later, at the Paris Exposition of 1889, the company again succeeded in winning the highest award and in recognition of his standing among perfume manufacturers Mr. Lorenz, in 1893, was chosen as the expert to judge of the perfumes exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1900 he was appointed by the French, government to serve on the international jury and his perfumes were placed "Hors Concours," or beyond competition, probably the highest honor that could be awarded. His was a nature that could never be content with mediocrity. He must move steadily forward, actuated by the spirit of progress and imbued with the determination that never stopped short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose. Thus it was that he gained not only a national but an international leadership in his line of manufacturing. On the 20th of September, 1866, Mr. Lorenz was united in marriage to Miss Martha Jane Phillips of Lebanon, Ohio, in which city she was born and reared. They became the parents of a daughter, Daisy B., now the wife of Arthur E. Baker of Toledo. She is a graduate of the Toledo high school and of Vassar College at Poughkeepsie, New York, and by her marriage she has become the mother of four children : William ; Martha B., who married Webb C. Hayes, Jr., and is the mother of a son, Webb C. Hayes (III) ; Arthur Lorenz ; and Gerald V. C. Baker. In his political views Mr. Lorenz was always a stalwart supporter of democratic principles and was at one time a member of the city council of Toledo from the seventh ward, his service covering two terms, or four years. He later received the democratic nomination for the state legislature, but on account of the pressing demands of his business interests he declined to become a candidate. During the presidency of Grover Cleveland, Mr. Lorenz was appointed postmaster of Toledo and continued to fill the office for four years. While he lived in a republican neighborhood, he always received a very flattering majority, indicative of the confidence reposed in him and kindly regard felt for him by his fellow townsmen. He was at one time a trustee of the Miami Children's Home and was treasurer of the Toledo branch of the Chicago University Extension. He took deep and helpful interest in everything that pertained to intellectual as well as material progress and his life was a valuable asset to the community in which he lived. He passed away May 13, 1916, his death being the occasion of deep regret-to his business associates and his many friends. He had always occupied his time wisely and well and reaped the rewards of labor and attained to high position in the regard of all. JOHN JAY WELKER, D. D. S. Dr. John Jay Welker, president of the Northern Ohio Dental Society for the year 1922, has been engaged in the active practice of his profession for more than nineteen years, his course being marked by that steady progress which is the visible indication of constantly expanding powers and a mastery of the problems that continually present themselves for solution in any profession or line of business. Moreover, Dr. Welker has always held to high professional ideals and closely followed the ethical teachings having to do with his chosen life work. His story had 376 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY its beginning on the 15th of January, 1875, when he first opend his eyes to the light of day in Bryan, Ohio, his parents being John M. and Julia Ann (Myers) Welker, the former a merchant of that place. At the usual age John Jay Welker became a pupil in the public schools of his native city and afterward attended the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, where he matriculated as a dental student and was there graduated with the class of 1903. In the same year he returned to Ohio, settling at Toledo, where he has practiced to the present time, winning substantial success with the passing years. His high standing among his brethren of the profession is indicated in the fact that he was chosen secretary and treasurer of the Toledo Dental Society for the year 1907 and in 1918 served as president ; was made a member of the board of directors of the Ohio State Dental Society and continued in that position for twelve years ; and was also elected to the directorate of the Northern Ohio Dental Society for a period of three years, while in 1922 he was chosen to the presidency of the last named organization. He has ever maintained a splendidly equipped dental office and has shown marked skill and scientific efficiency in the performance of the multitudinous delicate duties that devolve upon the dentist. On the 15th of June, 1898, Dr. Welker was married to Miss Grace Boothman of Bryan, Ohio, and they are parents of a son, Richard Maxwell, who was born April 11, 1901, and is now a student in the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Dr. Welker largely finds his recreation in golf and is vice president of the Sylvania Golf Club. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, interested in all those activities which feature in the city's welfare and improvement, in the development of its business connections and the maintenance of all those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and of civic pride. NED L. BAUMGARDNER Ned L. Baumgardner, member of the wholesale firm of Baumgardner & Company of Toledo, is recognized as one of the leading younger business men of this city. He was born in Toledo, on the 27th of October, 1880, the son of Edson W. and Frances Mary (Langan) Baumgardner of whom extensive mention is made elsewhere in this work, and has two brothers, Frank L. and Carleton Morey Baumgardner. An account of the latter also appears in this volume. Ned L. Baumgardner received his early education in the public schools of his birthplace, later attending the Michigan Military Academy where he prepared for entrance to Cornell University at Ithaca, New York. At the university he was made a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. Upon leaving college Mr. Baumgardner returned to Toledo, where he has since been associated with the firm of Baumgardner & Company in which his two brothers are also interested. This company, which was founded shortly after the Civil war, does a wholesale business in dry goods and notions and is one of the largest of its kind in the state. As one of the active managers of the concern Mr. Baumgardner has been responsible for much of the growth of the business in recent years, displaying in the conduct of his business a capacity for financial administration and constructive organizing work. On the 2d of June, 1906, occurred the marriage of Ned L. Baumgardner and Miss Kate R. Annin. They have one child, a son, named Edson W. (II), in honor of his grandfather. TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 377 Like the other members of his family Mr. Baumgardner holds republican views on political matters. He belongs to the Toledo Chamber of Commerce and numerous social and recreational organizations of the city, among them the Toledo Club, the Carranor Hunt and Polo Club and the Toledo Riding Club. Something of his recreational interests is indicated by his membership in the two latter clubs. He is also affiliated with the Transportation Club of New York city. CLARENCE DAVEY SELBY, M. D. Dr. Clarence Davey Selby is not only an eminent physician from the standpoint of knowledge of the science of medicine and ability in the practice of the profession but also by reason of his comprehensive study of his chosen calling as effecting sociological and economic conditions of the country. His breadth of vision has enabled him to aid in solving many intricate and complex problems which have to do with health conditions and his labors have been of the greatest benefit and service to mankind. Clarence Davey Selby was born in Des Moines, Iowa, July 21, 1878, his parents being Sanford Perry and Lizzie Foster (Davey) Selby. The removal of the family to Ohio enabled him to complete a high school course at Portsmouth, where he was graduated with the class of 1898. He afterward became a student in the medical department of the Western Reserve University and there won his professional degree in 1902. Since that time he has gained a position of distinction in the educational field as well as in active practice. He was made demonstrator of histology in the medical department of the Western Reserve University in 1901 and in 1902 he became assistant to the city bacteriologist of Cleveland. In the same year he was made interne at the Lakeside Hospital of Cleveland, occupying the position until 1903. He served as resident pathologist at St. Alexis Hospital in 1903-4 and was assistant to Dr. George Crile from 1904 until 1906. In the year 1905 Dr. Selby came to Toledo and the following year was appointed visiting surgeon to St. Vincent's Hospital, acting in that capacity until 1915, while at the present time he is chief of staff. He has been identified with the Flower Hospital since 1911 and he was commissioner of health of .Toledo from 1916 until 1918. For a period of ten years, from 1908 until 1918, he was managing editor of the Ohio State Medical Journal and he was consulting hygienist to the United States public health service in 1918 and 1919. In the latter year he was made a surgeon on the reserve list of the United States health service and so continues. He has been chief of staff of St. Vincent's Hospital since 1919 and was president of the hospital council of Toledo in 1921. Since 1920 he has been a director of the Toledo Council of Social Agencies, was a director of the American Association of Industrial Physicians and Surgeons in 1920-21 and a director of the Ohio Association of Industrial Physicians and Surgeons in 1919-20. Naturally Dr. Selby is connected with the leading medical societies of the country. He served as the secretary of the section on preventive medicine and public health of the American Medical Association in 1920 and was made vice chairman of the same in 1921. In 1919 he was secretary of the health service section of the National Safety Council. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, belongs to the Ohio State Medical Association, of which he was secretary and treasurer from 1908 until 1918, to the Academy of Medicine at Cleveland, to 378 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY the Academy of Medicine of Toledo and Lucas county and is now president of the Ohio Public Health Association for 1922 and also of the Toledo Public Health Association. On the 18th of October, 1905, Dr. Selby was united in marriage to Miss Olivia Roberts of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, and they make their home at No. 332 Boston place. They have a son, Robert Vincent Selby, born in Toledo, August 17, 1907. Dr. Selby 'belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution, to the Chamber of Commerce, to the Toledo Club and to the Toledo Yacht Club. He also has membership with the Nu Sigma Nu. His political allegiance has ever been given to the republican party and his religious faith is that of the Methodist church. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons as a Knight Templar, as a member of the Consistory and also of the Mystic Shrine. His life has been one of extreme usefulness and value to his fellowmen by reason of the breadth of his professional activities and the progressive spirit which he has ever manifested in connection with his chosen calling. ELI ELKINGTON CULVER Eli Elkington Culver is owner and president of the business which is now conducted under the name of the Culver Motor Company and as such he has reached a place among the representative merchants and business men of Toledo. He was born in the vicinity of this city September 24, 1875, and is a son of Horace and Sarah (Rathbone) Culver. The father was a farmer, devoting his life to agricultural pursuits, and the youthful experiences of Eli E. Culver were those of the farm bred boy who early becomes familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops, his work in the fields being alternated by periods of attendance at the country schools. Eli Elkington Culver supplemented his early educational training by a course in a business college and then, thinking to find commercial pursuits more congenial than farming, he secured a clerkship in a grocery store. Steadily he acquired knowledge and experience in this business and later he owned and conducted a grocery business for himself.. He was also proprietor of a general store at Ironville, Ohio, for a period of eighteen years and ere the expiration of that period he began handling the Ford automobiles, taking up the business in 1914. In 1917 he removed to Toledo, where he organized the Culver Motor Company, of which he has since been president and owner. He is now doing an annual business of seven hundred thousand dollars and has sixty people in his employ. The firm has one of the best equipped plants in the state of Ohio, and its service department is surpassed by none. Judged by what Mr. Culver has accomplished, he seems to have advanced by leaps and bounds in his business career and yet an analyzation of his methods shows that it has been through steady progression and the wise use of opportunity that he has reached the creditable and enviable place which he today occupies in connection with the sale of automobiles in this city. He is also a trustee of the Ohio Savings Association. Mr. Culver was united in marriage to Miss Freda Miller of Toledo and they became parents of two daughters, Geraldine and Mildred. Having lost his first wife, Mr. Culver was married to Miss Jessie Custin of Dunkirk, Ohio, and their children are three in number, Marion, Rhonda and Phyllis Jean. In addition to TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 381 his attractive home in Toledo, Mr. Culver owns a fifty-acre farm which is operated entirely by tractor work, no horses being used on the place. The most advanced and scientific methods are employed in the cultivation and care of the fields and success in large measure is attending the enterprise. Mr. Culver greatly enjoys hunting and fishing and each fall goes to the northern woods for big game hunting, while in the winter he enjoys a period of fishing in the south. He is the president of the East Side Luncheon Club and is a member of the East Side Chamber of Commerce, the Toledo Commerce Club, the Bay Shore Commerce Club, the Izaak Walton League of America, and the Young Men's Christian Association. Fraternally he is a Mason and also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Foresters, and he never withholds his cooperation from any well devised plan for the city's improvement or upbuilding, for the advancement of its trade relations or the promotion of civic interests which lead to municipal adornment or improvement. He is always alert, ready for any emergency and any opportunity, and has proven himself a dynamic force in connection with commercial interests in his native state. ANTHONY C. BAY Among the varied lines of activity which are factors in Toledo's commercial development is the real estate and insurance business conducted by the Wright, Russell & Bay Company, of which Anthony C. Bay is the vice president, their offices being located at Nos. 313-15 Huron street. Mr. Bay is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Wood county on the 7th of March, 1865, and his parents were Charles and Rosina (Fisher) Bay, both of whom were of European birth and came to the United States at an early period in their lives. They first located at Cleveland, Ohio, and later removed to Wood county, this state, where the father successfully followed the occupation of farming until his demise, which occurred when he had reached the venerable age of ninety-two years. He was an honored veteran of the Civil war, serving throughout the period of hostilities as a private of the Seventh Ohio Infantry, under General John B. Steadman. The mother has also passed away. In the grammar and high schools of Toledo, Anthony C. Bay acquired his education and his initial business experience was obtained in the employ of the L. S. Baumgardner Company, wholesale dealers in dry goods and notions. He remained with that house for several years and then became a special agent for the Aetna Fire Insurance Company, his connection with that organization lasting a little over a year. Subsequent to that he became associated with the Toledo Fire Underwriters Association as assistant secretary, which office he filled for fifteen years, resigning to purchase a half interest in the firm of Wright & Russell, becoming an active partner in the enterprise, which has since been known as the Wright, Russell & Bay Company. They also handle real estate and their business is one of large proportions. Mr: Bay has been identified with the company for nineteen years and is now serving as vice president. Broad experience and close study have given him a comprehensive knowledge of the business and much of the present prosperity enjoyed by the firm is attributable to his well-directed efforts and earnest application. On the 31st of December, 1913, Mr. Bay married Miss Daisy Washburn of Toledo, whose parents are residents of Port Clinton, Ohio. He is ever ready to give his support to measures for the promotion of the public welfare and for one 382 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY term served as a member of the city council. He is a member of the Toledo Club, the Toledo Yacht Club and the Exchange Club and is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to both the York and Scottish Rites. He possesses keen perception and keen insight into business affairs and situations and has the power of concentration, which enables him to give his entire thought to the matter in hand. In the parlance of the day he has "made good" and is recognized as a successful business man and public-spirited citizen. ELMER HERMAN GERSON Elmer Herman Gerson, president and treasurer of I. Gerson and Sons Company, is one of Toledo's well known and successful business men whose long identification with his line of business has given him a position of leadership and prominence that is outstanding in trade circles. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but in the further development and conduct of the enterprise many a man of less capability would have failed. He has adapted himself to the changing conditions of the commercial world and progressiveness and straightforward business practices have been contributing factors to the continued success of the undertaking. Mr. Gerson comes to Toledo from the neighboring state of Indiana, his birth having occurred at Union City, October 3, 1878, his parents being Isaac and Caroline (Rosenfield) Gerson. ,The father was born in Germany, and came to America when about twenty-five years of age, locating at Union City, Indiana, where he entered the hide and fur business, in which he was engaged until his removal to Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1890. There he became identified with the scrap iron industry and was so associated until 1899, when he removed from Bucyrus to Toledo and here organized the firm of I. Gerson & Sons, continuing active in the business to the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th of October, 1917. He had thus for more than a quarter of a century figured in connection with an industry that became widely and favorably known not only in business circles of Toledo, but throughout northwestern Ohio and southern Michigan. Elmer H. Gerson was educated in the public schools of his native city and of Bucyrus, Ohio, and later came with his parents to Toledo. From boyhood he was the active assistant of his father in business and upon the latter's death the business was incorporated under the style of I. Gerson & Sons Company, and Elmer H. Gerson became the president and treasurer. The business of this company is conducted on a vast scale and is one of the largest in its line in this section of the country. Ninety employes and two yards covering seventeen acres, with an equipment of the best in the way of shipping facilities and the latest improved machinery materially aid in its operation. In addition to the attention which he gives to executive control of the business, Mr. Gerson is likewise a director of the Commercial Savings Bank & Trust Company and president of The Gerson Realty Company. He has made for himself a most creditable position in commercial circles and is numbered among the city's strong and capable business men whose methods are clean and square. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and he also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is likewise a member of the Progress Club and of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish benevolent organization. Mr. Gerson is a man of TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 385 generous spirit, constantly extending a helping hand where aid is needed and ready at all times to help any movement or project that is of benefit to the city. The company has a branch office in Detroit at No. 1004-5 Book building. WILLIAM EDWIN WILLIAMS, JR. William Edwin Williams, Jr., associated with the firm of Brown, Geddes, Schmettau & Williams, has despite his comparative youth gained a place of distinction in legal circles that many a man of twice his years might well envy. He was born in Jackson, Ohio, March 18, 1893, and is a son of William Edwin and Margaret (Evans) Williams. The father, who devoted his life to the practice of medicine, passed away December 26, 1911. William E. Williams, Jr., obtained a public school education which was completed by a course in the high school of his native city. His further educational training was obtained in the Ohio State University, where he pursued the arts course until graduated with the class of 1915, and the law course, which won him his professional degree in 1917. On the 15th of May of the following year he enlisted for service in the World war as a private and was sent to the Fourth Officers' Training School at Camp Custer, Michigan, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant of the Field Artillery and assigned to duty at Camp Zachary Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky. On the 16th of August he was transferred to Camp Jackson in the replacement troops and later he was sent to the School of Fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Subsequently he was attached to the Fifty-eighth Regiment of Field Artillery at Camp Jackson near Columbia, South Carolina, there remaining until discharged on the 10th of December, 1918. With his release from the army Mr. Williams came to Toledo and has here engaged in law practice, being now associated with the firm of Brown, Geddes, Schmettau & Williams. From the beginning he was recognized as one of the prominent representatives of the younger members' of the bar. The thoroughness with which he prepares his cases, the unremitting study which he makes of every cause entrusted to his care and his forcefulness in the actual work of the courts have gained for him a notable distinction. Mr. Williams belongs to the Beta Theta Pi and the Phi Delta Phi, two Greek letter fraternities, has membership in the Commerce Club, in the American Legion, in the First Congregational church and, along professional lines, in the Lucas County and Ohio State Bar associations. He enjoys golf and tennis and employs a portion of his time for needful recreation, but the major part of his attention is given to his professional duties and those obligations which should claim the cooperation of every citizen. FRANK B. FOLGER Frank B. Folger is the manager of sales for the Jacob Folger estate, controlling the extensive pork packing and sausage manufacturing business which was established by his father, long recognized as one of the prominent business men of this city. Jacob Folger was born in Bavaria, Germany, April 16, 1844, and passed 386 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY away at Toledo, April 13, 1916, at the age of seventy-two years, of which nearly sixty years had been passed in the new world. He was the youngest of the seven children who reached maturity, born to John and Catherine Folger, and between the ages of six and thirteen years was a pupil in the public schools of his native country. He then started alone for the new world to join his elder brother, who some years before had come to the United States and was engaged in the butchering business in New York city. After a voyage of seven weeks Jacob Folger reached the eastern metropolis and spent three years in a practical apprenticeship to the butcher's trade under his brother. In 1860, when sixteen years of age, he came to Toledo, where he worked in the market of Gottlieb Stahl, his wages being increased from eight to sixteen dollars per month. From this meager sum he saved an amount that in 1864 enabled him to start in business on his own account, although in a very limited way. In the same year he married the daughter of Benjamin Emch, who joined him in business under the firm style of Folger & Emch but who a year later retired from the firm. Mr. Folger then not only conducted a retail butchering business but also began the manufacture of sausage and gradually enlarged his packing facilities, so that after a few years he abandoned the retail trade, conducting the business exclusively as a wholesale enterprise. In 1883 his plant was removed from Central avenue, where the street railway barns now stand, to West Toledo and today covers several acres. Mr. Folger always made a specialty of packing pork and manufacturing sausage and won a high reputation in that connection throughout the state. A wholesale establishment is maintained whereby the products of the packing house are sent to the retailers. Some years prior to his death Jacob Folger turned the management and control of the business over to his sons, Charles A., Frederick J. and Frank B. Jacob Folger was also much interested in the Forest cemetery, the municipal burying ground, and for years served as president of its board of trustees. Up to the time when he took over the executive management the financial report had showed an annual deficit, and it was due to his able control that it was placed upon a self-supporting basis. Politically Mr. Folger was a republican and at one time represented the fourth ward in the city council, where he made so admirable a record that his friends urged him to become a candidate for mayor, but this he declined to do. He belonged to the German Pioneer Association of Toledo and to the Druid Society. Such was the hospitality of his attractive summer home on the Ottawa river, which was always open to the entertainment of his legion of friends, that it became familiarly known as Folger's Country Club. In 1864 Jacob Folger wedded Mary Emch, daughter of Benjamin Emch and a native of Wood county, Ohio. They became parents of the three sons previously mentioned and four daughters, of whom Amelia died in 1907, the others being Anna, wife of Charles J. Sanzenbacher ; Julia and Lena. Frank B. Folger, who, like his brothers, has become active in the management of the business established by the father, was born in Toledo, September 27, 1881, and after attending the public schools continued his education in the Tri-State Business College. In 1916 he became identified with the pork packing and sausage manufacturing business which had been established and for many years successfully conducted by his father, and although he started out in a minor position, he has risen steadily, as he has gained knowledge of and experience in the business, to the responsible place of manager of sales. The business has thrived and developed under the careful control of Frank B. Folger and his brothers and is still conducted as the Jacob Folger estate. It has long since become one of the paying productive TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 387 enterprises of the city and in control of sales Frank B. Folger by undaunted enterprise and progressive methods has contributed in no small measure to the continued success of the undertaking. On the 25th of January, 1910, Mr. Folger was married to Miss Crissa Grant and they have become parents of seven children : Jacob, born in 1911 ; Rada, born in 1912; Anna, born in 1914 ; Franklin, born in 1915 ; Helen, born in 1916 ; Bessie, born in 1918; and Charles, born in 1920. Mr. Folger is politically an earnest republican and fraternally is connected with Toledo Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is loyal to the public welfare in every way and supports all measures for the general good, but the major part of his time and attention is claimed by his business affairs and it has been his close application and unremitting energy that have brought him to the enviable position which he occupies in the business circles of his native city. GEORGE STRAFFORD MILLS George Strafford Mills, a Toledo architect whose work is known nationally, has made his home in this city from the age of nineteen. He is a native of England, born in London, December 5, 1866, his parents being George and Mary Huxley (Callow) Mills. In 1870 the father brought his family to the United States and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a well known journalist who at one time edited the St. Louis Times, and also the Globe-Democrat of that city and was also admitted to the St. Louis bar. He died at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, August 18, 1890. His widow returned to England. George Strafford Mills attended the public schools of St. Louis and also the Manual Training School of Washington University, from which he graduated in 1884. He then entered the office of George I. Barnett as a student, pursuing his studies in architecture under Mr. Barnett's direction. He came to Toledo to teach drawing in the Scott Manual Training School, then just started, and shortly afterward was made superintendent of that school, which post he occupied until in November, 1892, when he resigned this position to start his career as an architect, as a member of the firm of Mills and Wachter, an association maintained for five years; until April, 1897. Following the dissolution of this partnership Mr. Mills continued in the practice of his profession alone until April, 1912, when he organized the firm of Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff. During the many years of his practice of the profession of architecture, his name and the names of his associates have been connected with the most important buildings erected in Toledo and in many cities of the country from Boston to San Francisco. Mr. Mills became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1900 and his standing in his profession is best indicated by the fact that in 1915 he was elected a fellow of the Institute, an honor which is bestowed upon only a few architects of marked distinction. He was elected vice president of the Institute and served on its executive committee, 1918-1919. Mr. Mills was married November 14, 1894, to Alice F. Baker, daughter of Latimer Baker, who died September 25, 1913. They had two daughters, Fidelia Latimer and Elizabeth Mary; the latter of whom is deceased. On October 26, 1915, Mr. Mills married Stella A. Peterson. 388 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY Mr. Mills is a Consistory Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is a. member of the Toledo Club, the Country Club and the Commerce Club and is active in many of the city's enterprises. He resides at No. 2268 Scottwood avenue. GEORGE JOSEPH AND WILLIAM JOSEPH KERSCHER George Joseph and William Joseph Kerscher can rightfully be placed in the classification of self-made men. It has been due entirely to their own efforts and business integrity that success has attended them. From a small beginning they have builded their business until it has become one of the leading activities of its kind in the state. George Joseph Kerscher, president of the Kerscher Elevator Company of Toledo, has reached his present creditable position in business circles, not by leaps and bounds but by a steady progression that has indicated the wise and careful use of every chance that has come to him for advancement. Born in Toledo, on the 17th of March, 1887, he is a son of Michael and Theressa (Reibmeyer) Kerscher, who came to Toledo in 1870. The father, who was a teamster and for many years was in the employ of an express company in this city, is now deceased. The son, George Joseph Kerscher, was educated in St. Mary's parochial school, pursuing his studies to the age of fourteen years, when he started out to provide for his own support by obtaining the position of glass gatherer in a glass works of this city. He was afterward employed by the Richard Boiler & Engine Company for a period of two years and as he worked his way steadily upward he became imbued with the ambition to engage in business on his own account. He next became associated with his brother Joseph Kerscher, working for him until the formation of the Kerscher Elevator Company, which he joined his brothers, Joseph and William Kerscher, in organizing. They established their business upon a sound and substantial basis. The brother Joseph has passed away. The two remaining brothers continue active in the business, of which George J. Kerscher is now the president. To-day they are among the leading manufacturing men of this city. George J. Kerscher is well known in club circles. He belongs to the Kiwanis Club, to the Toledo Automobile Club and also has membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order. of Moose, the Chamber of Commerce and Toledo Builders Exchange—associations which indicate much of the nature and diversity of his interest. He enjoys athletic and out-door sports, particularly hunting and fishing, and to these turns for recreation from the arduous cares of business. William Joseph Kerscher, the junior partner in the Kerscher Elevator Company, was born in Toledo, September 11, 1888, and he, too, attended St. Mary's parochial school, while later he pursued a course in a business college. He afterward became bill clerk in a wholesale house, in which he was employed for a time and in 1904 he entered the employ of his brother, Joseph Kerscher. Later he joined his brothers in the Kerscher Elevator Company, which was organized in 1912, and which was incorporated in, 1920, William J. Kerscher becoming the secretary and treasurer. The firm manufactures electric hydraulic belts and hand- TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 393 operating freight and passenger elevators. Its new brick plant, in the 900 block on Michigan street, which is 150x75 feet and contains two floors and also a warehouse, 50x50, is equipped with the. finest machinery obtainable and enables the company to render a superior workmanship in the building of its product. While the Kerscher brothers are comparatively young men they have won wide recognition in Toledo's manufacturing and business circles. The two brothers have from the beginning been closely associated in the management and control of the enterprise, the labors of the one ably supplementing and rounding out the efforts of the other. On the 16th of February, 1911, William J. Kerscher was married to Miss Christena M. Christ of Toledo and they are parents of two children : Francis and William Joseph, Jr. William Joseph Kerscher is a member of the Toledo Credit Men's Association, Toledo Builders' Exchange and the Toledo Automobile Club. Like his brother, William J. Kerscher finds great pleasure in fishing and hunting and when opportunity offers he makes a trip into the forest and to the streams for this purpose. RICHARD D. LOGAN Since 1909 Richard D. Logan has been identified with the Toledo bar, during which period he has won a well established position in the ranks of his profession, and his fellow practitioners unite in bearing testimony to his high character and superior mind. He was born in Waverly, Ohio, December 2, 1884, a son of James Wilson and Kate (Dougherty) Logan, who are also natives of the Buckeye state. For forty years the father has been connected with mercantile interests of Waverly and he is numbered among the leading business men and progressive citizens of that place. He has also been prominent in civic affairs, serving for one term as mayor of Waverly and also filling other public offices of trust and responsibility. The mother is living and three children have been born to them : Frank B., a noted cartoonist residing in Waverly, Ohio ; Mrs. Robert Brown, who is living in New York city ; and Richard D. In the acquirement of an education Richard D. Logan attended the grammar and high schools of Waverly and then became a student at the Ohio State University, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1907, and at which time he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the honorary scholarship fraternity. Two years later he received the LL. B. degree from that institution on the completion of a course in law. Coming to Toledo, he began his professional career, first becoming connected with the firm of Swayne, Hayes. & Fuller, with whom he was associated for about four years, and he then engaged in practice independently until 1918. He has since been a member of the firm of Doyle & Lewis, engaged in general practice, and one of the leading law firms in the state, a liberal clientele being accorded them. Mr. Logan has a comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence and he is noted for the precision of his briefs, the logic of his arguments and the skill with which he has handled cases of a difficult nature. On the 5th of June, 1912, Mr. Logan was married to Miss Florence Durflinger at London, Ohio, her father being Judge S. W. Durflinger, a prominent jurist in Central Ohio. To this union has been born a son, Richard D., Jr., whose birth occurred in this city March 28, 1919. Mr. Logan is a member of St. Mark's Episco- 394 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY pal church of Toledo and in his political views he is a republican. He is identified with the blue lodge in Masonry and is also a member of the Toledo, Toledo Country and Sylvania Golf clubs. His professional relations are with the Lucas County and Ohio State Bar associations and he is also a member of Phi Delta Phi legal f raternity and Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Beta Kappa, college fraternities. Close application, persistency of purpose and the utilization of the talents with which nature endowed him have brought Mr. Logan to a position of prominence in legal circles of Toledo and no representative of the bar of this city has a higher conception of the dignity and responsibility of his profession. DANIEL SEGUR, SR. An investigation into the records of those who have at any period contributed in substantial measure to the growth, progress and improvement of Toledo indicates that in this connection mention should be made of Daniel Segur, Sr., who was a merchant and real estate dealer. He was born in Herkimer county, New York, in 1812 and was descended in the paternal line from English ancestry, representatives of the name having emigrated from England to Rhode Island in 1684. The name was originally spelled Seager, and was of Norse origin. It was so spelled down through and after the Revolutionary war. Mr. Segur's father so spelled it. The sixth generation in America changed the spelling, the Rhode Island branch taking Segar and the western branch, Segur. The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, by Samuel Green Arnold, states that at the last general assembly Samuel Seager represented Kingstown, Washington county, Rhode Island. Samuel Seager's commissions as captain, lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier general are all spelled Seager. The grandfather of Daniel Segur was a brigadier general of the Rhode Island militia in colonial days under King George III and was one of the first colonial officers who declared for the independence of the colonies after the Declaration of Independence was written. He was a man of means and invested his money in Continental scrip in order to aid congress to carry on the Revolutionary war. Notwithstanding the fact that he had held large landed estates his patriotic course brought him into straitened financial circumstances because of the depreciation of the Continental currency, and with the parents of Daniel Segur he removed from Rhode Island to Herkimer county, New York, where he died after a few years of suffering and invalidism, resulting from wounds sustained during the war for independence. In the year 1815 the parents of Daniel Segur established their home in Oneida county, New York, where his father engaged in farming and in milling. That sec- tion of the country was then. largely an undeveloped wilderness and the Indian tribe from whom the county took its name and had not yet been removed to western reservations, so that in his infancy and early childhood Daniel Segur became familiar with the adventurous life of the western frontiersman, with its hardships and privations. His father died in his forty-fifth year and upon Daniel Segur devolved the support of the mother, an invalid sister and numerous younger brothers. In early life he evinced a leaning toward the legal profession, but because of the death of his father it was necessary for him to leave school and to concentrate his energies upon the immediate task of earning a living. When but fifteen years TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 395 of age he went to Utica, New York, and obtained a situation in a hotel, earning a small salary, the greater part of which he sent to his mother to aid her in caring for the younger children of the household. However, his industry, sobriety and perseverance attracted the attention of Henry Huntington, a wealthy and influential resident of Rome, New York, who at that time was president of the Bank of Utica; Through the influence of the banker Daniel Segur was to be sent to school, but his elder brother, who had established himself in business in Buffalo, induced Daniel to join him there and he did so, becoming a clerk in the Mansion House of that city. He was always a believer in the opportunities of the growing west and in 1832 he took another step westward by removing to Cleveland, where with his elder brother he conducted the Mansion House, the venture proving profitable until the autumn of 1835, when the hotel was destroyed by fire. In the spring of 1836 Mr. Segur took up his abode in Toledo and here he conducted another hotel, also known as the Mansion House. This was a large wooden building situated between Lagrange and Locust streets and from the beginning the new enterprise prospered. Unfortunately for him, however, he was induced to enter upon the management of a more extensive and pretentious hotel project and, leaving the Mansion House, he completed a new hostelry known as the American Hotel at the corner of Elm and Summit streets. Then came a period of widespread financial depression whereby Mr. Segur lost every dollar that he had previously acquired. He thus had to begin life anew empty-handed, possessed of nothing save courage and experience. From time to time Mr. Segur figured prominently in the political life of his city, as well as in its business circles. In 1838 he served his first term as a member of the city council and for a number of years thereafter with only slight interruptions he continued to hold city and county offices. In 1842 he was elected street commissioner and during his term of service Cherry street was opened under his supervision through morasses, swamps and a jungle wilderness from the Manhattan canal to Tremainesville. Two years later Mr. Segur was reelected to the same office and under his direction a very extensive series of grades was projected and executed, regarded at that time as an almost Herculean task. Water street was graded from Monroe to Lagrange and Summit street from Perry to Elm, including the grading of the intervening and cross streets from Summit to Water street as far as Lagrange street. The whig party, of which he was an advocate, had now come into power and in 1845 Mr. Segur was appointed collector of canal tolls, holding the position for six years, receiving a salary of about fifty dollars per month. This enabled him not only to support his mother and younger brothers but also to invest a small sum in real estate in Toledo and vicinity and, starting in this way, he later developed a comfortable fortune. He was always strictly fair and just in his real estate dealings, never taking advantage of the misfortunes of a humble client but doing everything in his power to assist the poor to acquire property, frequently waiting as long as ten years after mortgages were due in order to collect the sum owing him. In the six years in which he served as collector of canal tolls he handled nearly half a million dollars of state funds and in less than a week after resigning the position to his successor his accounts were settled without the deficit of a single penny. Having always entertained conservative views upon the slavery question, when the whig party embraced an anti-slavery plank in its platform in 1855, with Salmon P. Chase as one of its leaders, he joined the ranks of the democratic party, with which he afterward affiliated. Notwithstanding this, whenever he was a candidate for municipal office he received the strong support of many republicans 396 - TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY and prohibitionists as well as democrats, all submerging their political and party preferences in a desire to see a capable man in office. In 1858 Mr. Segur was appointed deputy collector of customs and held the position until the close of President Buchanan's administration. Later he engaged in various industrial pursuits, carried on farming and dairying, engaged in the culture of tobacco, in real estate dealing and in merchandising. He conducted a retail boot and shoe store, also a merchant tailoring establishment and handled ready-made clothing and men's furnishings. At times he lived on his farm in order more efficiently to manage his agricultural interests and when after a temporary absence he would return to the city he was always elected to the council or aldermanic board and in 1876 was the presiding officer of the board of aldermen. He was repeatedly urged to become a candidate for more important positions but preferred to give his time and energies to the development of the city in other ways and at no time was his cooperation withheld from any project which he deemed of vital worth to the benefit and welfare of Toledo. In 1841 Mr. Segur was married to Lucy Keeler, a daughter of a pioneer resident of Toledo. She passed away after less than a year of married life. Ten years later Mr. Segur wedded Rosa L. Klinge, who was well known at that time as a journalist and became better known with the passing years as one of the editorial contributors to the Toledo Commercial, the Toledo Blade and several monthly publications. To Mr.. and Mrs. Segur were born three children, one of whom died in infancy ; Daniel, mentioned elsewhere in this work, who died in 1917 ; and Fannie, who is the wife of George W. Foster of Dallas, Texas. Mrs. Segur passed away in 1906. She was one of those devoted and consecrated women to whom the suffrage cause owes much. She was the dominant figure in the Toledo Association for nearly twoscore years and it was said of her: "She would have unflinchingly faced the cannon's mouth for her cause." That the work of herself and associates has borne fruit is a matter of history. That she might enjoy the rights and privileges of citizenship without the shadow of a doubt she took out naturalization papers February 23, 1895, having been born in Germany, although her marriage to an American would automatically confer upon her American citizenship. Mr. Segur died in 1876. Long did Mr. and Mrs. Segur remain active factors in the life of Toledo, contributing along varying lines to its development and progress and taking active part in promoting its transformation from a western frontier town into one of the metropolitan centers of the middle west. Mr. Segur did much to shape the policy and direct the destiny of the city as a public official and as a business man and his name is thus indelibly stamped upon the records of the municipality. HERMAN WIENER The history of a city does not depend entirely upon its machinery of government ordinance or even upon the men who occupy its public offices but also in large measure upon those who are directing its commercial and industrial activities, conducting interests which not only contribute individual success but also promote public prosperity. In this connection Herman Wiener is known, for he is one of the active and energetic manufacturers of Toledo, being president and treasurer of the Universal Glove Company. He was born. in Russia, October 15, 1888, and is a son of Martin Zacariah and Mollie R. (Smilack) Wiener. The TOLEDO AND LUCAS COUNTY - 399 father was a wholesale grain dealer in Russia and died when his son, Herman, was a lad fourteen years of age. The latter afterward took up the task of supporting his mother as well as himself and remained in Russia until 1904, when he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, being at that time a youth of sixteen years. He made his way at once into the interior of the country, with Toledo as his destination, and here began earning his living as a laborer. He was energetic and ambitious and in order to win advancement he attended night school and throughout the intervening years has been a thorough student in the school of experience, learning many valuable lessons of life. For six years he occupied the position of scale master with Henry Rosen. In 1910 he organized the Universal Glove Company for the purpose of manufacturing cotton gloves, being very desirous to engage in business on his own account, so that his labors might directly benefit himself. A laudable ambition, therefore, prompted his establishment of his manufacturing interests, which were conducted under a partnership relation until 1915, when the business was incorporated under the present name, with Mr. Wiener as the president and treasurer. The company today employs one hundred and seventy-five people and has two hundred and seventy-five employes. The concern manufactures thirty-five thousand pairs of gloves per month. The plant is a three-story brick building, one hundred and twenty by sixty feet, and well supplied with modern equipment and machinery for carrying on the work. On the 25th of December, 1915, Mr. Wiener was married to Miss Carrie Rosenbaum of Chicago and they have become parents of three children : Martin Zacariah, Virginia and Helen. Fraternally Mr. Wiener is connected with the Masons and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, while of the Loyal Order of Moose he is a life member. He also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and thus gives tangible evidence of his interest in and support of all plans and measures for the general good. He has never regretted his determination to leave his native country and seek the opportunities of the new world, for in this country he has found chance for steady progress and step by step has advanced until his position as a manufacturer of Toledo is both a creditable and enviable one. WILLIAM H. SIMMONS When determination, perseverance and talent are arrayed against drawbacks, poverty and trials, the result is almost absolutely certain. The former are invincible —they know no defeat. This truth finds verification in the life record of William H. Simmons, who was a man of marked force of character and by determined purpose and indefatigable effort rose from a humble position to one of prominence in business circles. His was the record of a strenuous life—the record of a strong individuality, sure of itself, stable in purpose, quick in perception, swift in decision and energetic and persistent in action. The story of such a life cannot fail to impress all who read it and certainly should serve as an example to others. Mr. Simmons was born in Toronto, Canada, July 12, 1837. He was left an orphan at the age of fourteen years, and thus thrown upon his own resources, he early called forth his latent powers, developing self-reliance and independence of thought and action. He spent two years in Syracuse, New York, and then went to Adrian, Michigan, where he was employed as a clerk in a hardware store at a salary of fifty dollars per year and hoard. Thus he worked until the outbreak of